Tip off: 3:35 PM EST
Spread: LAL -5.5
Total: 197.5
M/L: LAL -240, DEN +200
Odds taken from Bookmaker
After starting the season 2-0, Denver lost their firsr game Thursday night to the Portland Trailblazers. They still scored 102, but gave up 111, as the Blazers’ backcourt of Wes Matthews and Raymond Felton contributed for 48 points, outscoring Denver’s own duo of Ty Lawson and Aaron Afflalo, by 4. Still, the Nuggets can draw encouragement from the fact they limited LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace to only 13 a piece.
The Lakers have won their last two games after starting the season 0-2. Wins over Utah and New York have evened the score, and the Lakers covered the spread in both affairs. Despite my railing on Kobe’s age in the MVP Odds article, he has posted typical Kobe numbers, better than last year, in fact, with 27.8 points per game, 5.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game. The now 33 year old Bryant is showing few, if any, signs of slowing down.
Denver Nuggets Betting trends:
Denver is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games. Denver is 17-6-2 ATS in the last 25 games. The Nuggets are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games on the road and they are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games against the Lakers. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Denver’s last 5 games against the Lakers and the Nuggets are 8-16 SU in their last 24 games against L.A. The Nuggets are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 games on the road against the Lakers, and the Nuggets are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 road games against the Lakers. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver’s last 6 games on the raod against the Lakers. Denver is 4-17 SU in their last 21 games on the road against the Lakers.
L.A. Lakers Betting trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the Lakers’ last 5 games and they are 7-14 ATS in their last 21 games . The Lakers are 4-8 ATS in their last 12 games at home and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 5 at home. The Lakers are 15-7 SU in their last 22 at home and they are 16-8 SU in their last 24 against Denver. The Lakers are 2-4-1 ATS in their last 7 against Denver, and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of Denver’s last 5 games. The Lakers are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games against the Nuggets and they are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 against Denver. The Lakers are 12-5-1 ATS in their lats 18 games at home against the Nuggets. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the Lakers’ last 6 games at home against Denver, and the Lakers are 17-4 SU in their last 21 games at home against the Nuggets.
Key Matchup:
Aaron Afflalo vs. Kobe Bryant
As I said, Kobe is showing few signs of slowing down. Afflalo has traditionally been a good defender on just about everyone, but we also know there is no slowing Kobe down when he is ‘on.’ I expect Afflalo to do his best to deny Kobe the ball, but that won’t work. Kobe knows how to get open and he has been finding his teammates this year. Mike Brown’s offense has Kobe functioning in a different way than we’re accustomed to seeing, but the result is the same: dominance. The Lakers are just starting to gain momentum after winning their last 2, and realize that if they are going to make another championship run, the time is now.
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